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Ultima IX Nitpicks - Lord British's Castle
Here you’ll find inaccuracies in Lord British’s Castle in Ultima IX. Ignorance of predecessors Gargoyles When the Avatar brought the Codex to Britannia a long time ago, he stole it from the Gargoyles, out of ignorance. Years later, he destroyed their world, again out of ignorance, by rescuing Lord British from the Underworld. Yet some years later, he was almost killed by a Gargoyle priest. Then he liberated the eight Shrines of Virtue from the Gargoyles. Eventually, he went down to their world, where he learned that he was the most important figure in their prophecies. Finally, he brought Britannia peace between humans and Gargoyles. I know that the Avatar has experienced even more amazing things, but how could he just forget the Gargoyles? Mariah's memories Mariah recalls how she and the Avatar "“dealt with that corrupt fool Batlin”". However, she was not a companion in either game in which Batlin played a part. Wrong weapon Iolo says he killed the Gargoyle priest at the beginning of Ultima VI with an arrow, but it was a crossbow bolt. Missing people Chuckles, Nystul, and Sherry are all missing. Geoffrey Geoffrey had been Lord British’s bodyguard at the Castle for centuries. Does the Avatar not wonder why he’s suddenly gone? Lord British' Orb of the Moons Lord British owns a superb Orb of the Moons, which you can use everywhere and at any given time to travel to certain places in Britannia. However, it does not appear in Ultima IX. Of course, the Orb did not work anymore at the end of Ultima VII, but in Ultima IX, all moongate-related problems seem to be fixed.) Repair job In Serpent Isle, Lord British appeared in the realm of dreams and told the Avatar about a crack in the foundation of the castle. It seems Lord British had enough time to have workmen in his castle to repair the crack, in spite of the war against the Guardian. Moat to garden The moat has been replaced with a garden. Another missing person Gwenno is missing at the big farewell party at the end, despite being an old companion of the Avatar. Stones The Avatar attentively listens to Siona teaching him Stones and explaining that it’s a favourite of Lord British. He even writes the information down into his Journal. The problem is that he knew Stones since the times of Ultima V, when he had to play the melody to open a secret door. Response: There's no Watsonian explanation I can think of, but the Doylist explanation is that Avatar knows it, but the player might not. Healing Why can’t Lord British heal you when he could in Ultima IV, VI, and VII? (In Underworld II, there was at least a good explanation.) Technical shortcomings Crystal spheres Through one of the crystal spheres on the terrace, you can see the entrance of the Guardian’s keep on Terfin. But if Lord British knows that the Guardian is on Terfin, why doesn’t he do anything? Teleporter A teleport platform near Stonegate takes you directly into Lord British’s Castle. Where did it come from? Isn’t Lord British worried about strangers entering his castle? Off-color moons In the cutscene with the moongate, Trammel and Felucca are both white. In the game, Trammel is colored slightly orange. Rapid aging There is a problem with Lord British’s appearance: Why does he suddenly look so old? In Ultima VII, he was still a relatively young man. In the original plot, by the way, this was explained with the columns draining Lord British’s vitality. Magic candle When you light the candle on the table in Lord British’s Castle, the table’s immediately laid by magic. Problems: * Britannia has huge problems with magic, but gimmicks like this work? * The “Create Food” spell belonged to the First Circle in all Ultimas in which it appeared. Strange thing that the table is laid even before the First Circle is reactivated. * That spell doesn’t even appear in Ultima IX... How is the table laid then? * In Ultima VII, you were allowed to attend dinner at Lord British’s Castle and were served all kinds of exquisite delicacies. In Ultima IX, the food is summoned through magical means. * Why is there a kitchen when food can be created infinitely by magic? Secret passages It’s already a bit strange that the guards’ rooms are hidden behind secret doors, but the kitchen (which is also quite small, by the way)? What’s so secret about the kitchen? Easy prison When you are thrown into prison by the dungeon guard, the gate automatically opens after a short while. General problems Linearity If the player chooses to visit Skara Brae immediately after the short intermezzo on Terfin, Shamino asks the Avatar to get an ankh, which is being kept by Lord British in his castle. After this, the player will consequently visit the king in order to ask him for the ankh. However, the Avatar doesn’t ask him although his friend’s life is at stake. Eight companions The eight companions of the Avatar (except of Katrina, maybe) disappeared, but Lord British doesn’t tell the Avatar Missing lens Vasagralem says that the red lens disappeared. However, Lord British does not mention that the same happened to the blue one. Sandalwood Box Isn’t it a bit complicated to play Stones in order to open the Sandalwood Box? It’s crucial to save the life of Shamino, so the Avatar could also try to break the box first, couldn’t he? Dupre's return After having cleansed the Shrine of Spirituality, you are told that Dupre has been resurrected for some reason. When you return to Lord British’s Castle afterwards, it’s already the most normal thing in the world that Dupre is back. Raven's unexplained knowledge When you ask Raven to take you somewhere else after Lord British has assigned the job of going into the void to you, how does she know exactly what the Avatar should do? Britannian trade embargo Lord British has cut off the important trade connection between Britain and Yew just because of some goblins? Wouldn’t it have been easier to send a few guards into the cave to drive the goblins away? Desbet Why don’t we see Vasagralem’s servant Desbet before travelling to Yew? Mysterious mirror What’s with that mysterious mirror of darkness in Lord British’s Castle? It shows you the destruction of Britannia, but the Avatar doesn’t seem to care about it, and he doesn’t ask Lord British either. External Links * Hacki's Ultima Nitpicks - hosted by Bootstrike Category:Ultima IX Nitpicks